New York's commuter rail system averts possible strike as unions ask Trump for help

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NEW YORK (AP) — A potential strike that could have shut down the nation’s largest commuter rail system this week has been averted.

Unionized workers for the Long Island Railroad announced they voted overwhelmingly Monday to authorize their labor leaders to call a strike if an agreement on a new contract isn’t reached.

But officials representing locomotive engineers, machinists, signalmen and other train workers said they’ve also asked President Donald Trump to intercede by forming an emergency board, a move that delays the potential for a strike at least for a few more months.

Union leaders said the earliest a strike could happen is in January while the Presidential Emergency Board, once formed, reviews the contract dispute and presents its recommendations.

A strike, which could have happened as early as Thursday under federal rules, would have impacted some 250,000 riders who ride the LIRR each day to and from New York City and its eastern suburbs.

A work stoppage would have also thrown a wrench in the Ryder Cup, which begins Sept. 26. The three-day men’s golf tournament between players from the U.S. and Europe is expected to bring 225,000 spectators to Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale on Long Island.

“This action does not mean a strike won’t happen, but it does mean it won’t happen now,” said Gil Lang, general chairman for the union representing LIRR locomotive engineers, at a news conference at the union’s office in Manhattan on Monday.

“We will continue being the adults in the room,” he added. “A strike is the last thing we want, and we’ll do everything we can to avoid that.”

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the LIRR and other area transit systems, dismissed the union's announcement as a “cynical delay" that "serves no one."

“If these unions wanted to put riders first, they would either settle or agree to binding arbitration," spokesperson John J. McCarthy said in a statement. "And if they don’t want to strike, they should say so — and finally show up to the negotiating table."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul similarly criticized the unions for attempting to “kick the can down the road” and for making “greedy asks” that threaten to “destabilize the local economy.”

In recent weeks, the agency and Hochul had resisted calling for an emergency board even though they have the power to do so.

Instead, the MTA announced plans last week to provide commuters with free shuttle buses to take them from some LIRR train stations to subway stops in the New York City borough of Queens in the case of a strike.

Hochul, a Democrat, has also called on the Trump administration to find a way to prevent the unions from walking out altogether.

“We have to get away from the strike language, and the White House and others should be using their power to say, ‘You’re not allowed to strike, you cannot strike.’ Work it out at the table," Hochul said Monday. "That’s our position right now. I do not want to see this happen.”

Spokespersons for the White House and the U.S. Department of Transportation didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The last LIRR worker strike happened more than three decades ago and lasted about two days in 1994. Workers nearly walked out in 2014 before then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reached a deal with unions.

In this most recent contract dispute, the MTA has proposed a 9.5% wage increase over three years, a deal that has already been accepted by the system’s other unionized workers.

But five labor unions representing about half the train system’s workforce are holding out for guarantees of another yearly salary increase of 6.5%, for a total raise of 16% over four years.

The unions say their proposal allows their members to maintain purchasing power in the face of high inflation and is in line with agreements reached by Amtrak and other passenger rail carriers in the country.

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Associated Press reporter Anthony Izaguirre in Albany contributed to this story.

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Follow Philip Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo